Reading Round Up 2015 - Part 1

I wanted to blog about what books I read this year, because my unofficial New Year's Resolution was to read more. I soon realised that if I did one post in December summarising every book I read in 2015, it'd be way too long. We've just passed halfway through the year, so here is what I've read so far!

Thought I'd take photos in the garden, seeing as the weather is so nice right now!

My aim for this year was to read 25 books. So far I've read 11 (haven't quite finished The Colour of Magic but I've added it anyway). Not bad I suppose? I've given the books the same ratings as I did on Goodreads (you can find me here).

So, in no particular order...

The Miniaturist - I loved the mystery of this book, it always kept me guessing. I really enjoyed reading it but was a little bit disappointed by the ending. It seemed a bit of an anticlimax after all the suspense that proceeded it. Apart from the last few chapters, I liked this book. ★★★★

Out of the Easy - I loved this book; it actually made an appearance in my March Favourites. It was an easy read, and I steamed through it in a matter of days. I am quite fond of historical fiction, but this wasn't a time or setting (1950s New Orleans) that I'd really come across before. I just enjoyed the whole aesthetic, as well as the plot. ★★★★★

Jurassic Park - I bought this on a whim, because I'd recently watched the film. And I liked it way more than I expected to. It's more frightening and gory than the film, meaning it's a thrill to read. It goes into way more depth and adds more exciting moments. I haven't decided whether to read the sequel, but I'm seriously considering it. ★★★★★

A Storm of Swords: Part 2 - I started reading this just before the new year, after picking up the series again towards the end of 2014 (I read the first two books way back when, then university got in the way and I couldn't be bothered). A Storm of Swords Parts 1 and 2 have been my favourites so far, after A Game of Thrones. So much happens! I feel like it's kind of the pivotal book because everything starts to get a bit shit from here on. My delicate heart just wants the best for my favourite characters. But anyone who knows George RR Martin knows that's not how it works. ★★★★★

A Feast for Crows - As the longest book in the series (I have A Dance with Dragons in two parts) this was quite a hard slog. However, I still enjoyed it. I mostly knew what was going to happen - it's hard to avoid spoilers these days - but reading the moments for myself was rewarding. I'm a little bit disenfranchised with the Game of Thrones tv series at the moment (the last season was a mess, there were too many shock tactics used to make what D&D consider to be 'good tv', and the whole plot of the books seems to have been thrown out of the window) so I want to crack on and catch up with the books, finally. I feel sorry for people who have been waiting for the next book to be published, maybe that is why I haven't started the next book yet... ★★★★

Moominsummer Madness - I read this to tick some of the boxes set by the PopSugar Reading challenge. I loved the Moomins as a child, but more the cartoons than the books. This is a good story, for a child. But, at the age of 22, I think I'm a little bit too old to appreciate this properly. ★★★

The World of Ice and Fire - I got this from my Nanna for Christmas. It sounds silly, but this required a lot more reading than I anticipated. But the illustrations are simply stunning. I really liked the history of Westeros, it filled in any bits I have missed whilst reading the books. However, I feel like this is a book that is more beneficial for those who have only watched the tv series, because I knew a lot of it already. ★★★★

The Colour of Magic - Discworld is probably one of the few nerdy fandoms that I am not a member of. So I decided to give it a try. And if I'm honest, I'm not too sure about it. Terry Pratchett was an amazing writer, I can see that from reading this. However, there was something that made reading The Colour of Magic quite labourious. I think it might be the fact that there aren't chapters - my biggest pet peeve when it comes to books is long/no chapters. Because it makes it difficult to find a place to stop where you can easily pick the story back up again. I found myself checking plot summaries to make sure I was following what was going on. Maybe I should watch one of the adaptations when I'm done... ★★★

The Night Circus - I bought this because everyone was talking about how amazing it was. I liked reading it, but also found it to be a bit of a disappointment after all the hype it had been given. Don't get me wrong, it's interesting and tells a beautiful and intricate story, but I felt like it was missing that 'wow' that you feel when you finish reading a good story. ★★★★

Stardust - I know this might be controversial, but I think I prefer the film adaptation to the book! I still enjoyed this immensely, Neil Gaiman crafted it beautifully, but the film compressed the story into a more cohesive chunk. I'd been debating whether to read it for ages, then one day Amazon sent me a random email saying I'd qualified for a free Kindle book. This was in the list of available titles so I thought, why not? ★★★★

Yes Please - I put this on my phone because I was trying out audiobooks to see whether they helped me with train travel, I thought, considering my love of Amy Poehler, Yes Please would be a good choice. I'm not usually one for memoirs, but I really enjoyed this! Especially because Amy reads it herself, along with a few special guests. In the end, I didn't spend that long listening to this on trains because I kept listening once I got off! ★★★★★